Deputy of Tempi Train Crash Committee Resigns

The deputy chairman of a committee set up by the Greek government to investigate the circumstances of the tragic 2023 Tempi train crash, which killed 57 people, has resigned amid media reports that its findings had spread confusion and were contradictory.

Christos Papadimitriou, the deputy chairman of the Hellenic Rail Accident Investigation Agency (EOADASAM), forwarded his letter of resignation to the deputy minister of transport on Wednesday.

According to government sources, his resignation was voluntary. However, both Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis had distanced themselves from him, effectively signaling his exit due to the flip-flopping regarding the controversial report and the confusion surrounding the cause of the fireball.

Minister Kyranakis said that the contradictory statements of the committee were damaging the credibility of the agency.

The Greek Council of State (CoS) on Monday ordered an investigation after the universities of Pisa and Ghent, who had been implicated by Greek experts in the ongoing investigations, distanced themselves from the report by EODASAAM on the causes of the fireball after the passenger and a freight train collided in 2023.

In his resignation letter, among other things, Papadimitriou defended the report issued for the Tempi train crash while also addressing the issue of the fireball:

“I believe that EOADASAM has produced a well-founded report, invaluable for the future of rail transport in Greece. The only exception is the issue of the fireball, which, in the unanimous opinion of the committee, requires further investigation. This, after all, is what I stated from the day the report was presented.”

The train crash, the deadliest railway accident in Greece, sparked some of the largest outdoor protests in decades, as tens of thousands took to the streets across the country demanding justice for the victims. A disgruntled Greek public opinion sees the tragic accident as a culmination of poor management by its government, revealing a litany of chronic equipment failures in the country’s railway system and the lack of effective policies to address serious safety transport issues.